The Great Solar Eclipse of 2017 crossed the continent, from Oregon to South Carolina, and gave millions of people the chance to witness one of the most awe-inspiring events in the natural world.

But you had to be within the "path of totality", a narrow band across the earth's surface several thousand miles long but only about 70 miles wide. Outside that band you would only see a partial eclipse, not a total eclipse.

And there is no such thing as a "partial total eclipse", despite the impression blogs and the news media might give. I honestly think that's why so many people misunderstand the utter beauty of the spectacle; they may have seen a partial eclipse in the past that was total somewhere else, and even though they weren't in the path the news kept gushing about it being a total eclipse, so they assume they must have seen a total eclipse and just didn't find it all that impressive.


Posted by Dan 08/29/2017, revised 09/06/2017

Ironman 70.3 Ecuador was actually my second race of 2021, but I didn't write about Challenge Cancun 70.3 in May because of what happened this spring. Although the race in Cancun went surprisingly well, my life was in such a dark place, I worried that the doom would spill into my writing so I just avoided it altogether.

I imagine I'm not the only one who left 2020 thinking wearily, "Well, it can't get much worse, can it?"

But of course, yes, it always can.

2020 was supposed to be my final year racing as a pro, and given that it was my Grand Finale, I had planned to hit four international races, maybe five if things went well. It had been eight years since I had traveled out of the country and I was getting the itch to explore the world while I still had the chance to leverage my pro status to cover some of the cost of travel.

To say that I was disappointed to see 2020 cancelled would be a massive understatement, but I do love being at home, so during the long months of lockdown, I became a homebody extraordinaire, fixing up our modest living space, painting the exterior of the property (which took me 3 months to complete!) and developing a new obsession with gardening.



In April of 2021, I was ecstatic to schedule my Covid vaccination and to begin making plans to race Cancun 70.3. It felt like life was finally coming back!

. . . and then our house flooded.


Posted by Kimberly 07/22/2021

In December 2001, Nik graduated with honors from Universal Technical Institute in Phoenix, Arizona, with a degree in Automotive and Truck Technology. He made the Director's Honor List 13 times and was named Student of the Phase three times. His final GPA was 3.95.

Nik now works for a boat repair shop on the SF-Bay waterfront in Alameda. He performs maintenance and repairs on all manner of recreational watercraft, including fishing, power and sailboats.

Posted by Dan 01/07/2002

Alright, so I have been adventuring and boy do I have a story for you guys! This will be my longest, most epic story thus far. She's gonna be a long one! But if you have the time and the will, I highly suggest sticking around for this tale, because it is quite amusing. Pull up a comfy chair, fix yourself a cuppa tea, sit back and enjoy this one. 'Cause I sure did! Mom, find a relaxed state...

Ok. So, a few weeks ago, my roommate Scott and our friend Peter started making plans for a fantastical road trip through northeast Australia, up along the coast to Cape Melville, one of the northern-most points of the continent. Peter had just bought a Toyota Hilux and wanted to make the most of it. You all must first understand that roadways in Australia are not like those in the U.S. There isn't a ribbon of tarmac everywhere you want to go. The highways between main cities along the coast are paved, but once you get up north, out of the bigger towns and into rainforest/bush/desert, all you have is a bumpy, bouncy, rough dirt road, 4WD-only tracks. Multiple river crossings through croc waters are necessary, and the corrugations in the road are enough to make a breakfast scramble of your brains. We were excited, to say the least.

Peter, me, and Scott - ready for our big road trip!

Posted by Whitney 07/13/2008, revised 07/13/2008